Monument record 8583 - Substantial Roman Drain, Cuppin Street

Excavations at the site of the Magistrates Court, off Cuppin St. in 1986 revealed a sequence of Roman activity just to the southwest of the Roman fortress (1). Below the deposits that were dumped against the rampart was a substantial Roman drain running parallel to, and against the rampart. It was a rectangular channel cut into the bedrock, about 1m wide and 1.2m deep, capped by massive sandstone slabs.

The drain remained open with only a few centimetres of silt in the bottom. The drain turns southwards immediately west of where it was found an although it remained open the condition of the roof made it unsafe to explore (4).

<1> Grosvenor Museum Excavations Newsletter, 1986, Summary of Excavations in Chester (Newsletter). SCH6272.

<2> Grosvenor Museum, 1988, Grosvenor Museum Excavation section: Current Activities & Upcoming Sites (Unpublished Report). SCH6282.

<3> Youngs S. Clark J & Barry T, 1987, Medieval Britain and Ireland in 1986 (Article in Journal). SCH5627.

<4> Chester Archaeology, 1987, Report on Excavations in Cuppin Street, Chester 1987 (Unpublished Report). SCH6885.